Door construction



Aug. 21, 1934.

G. A. GILLEN DOOR CONSTRUCTIOR Filed Oct. 15; 1930 2 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR Aug. 21, 1934. G. A. GlLLEN 1,970,905

DOQR CONSTRUCTION Filed Oct. 15. 1950 'zsheets-sheet 2 Patented Aug. 21, 1934 George A. Gillen, Bronx,

N. Y., assignor to Equipment & Supply Co. Inc., New York, N. Y., a corporation of New York Application October 15, 1930, Serial No. 488,780 Claims. (01. 20-36) The objects of this invention are to provide a door construction, particularly for hospitals, hotels, public buildings and conveyances, having movable panels, whichv may beopened for ventilation, vision, orother purposes, which will be of simple, durable construction, and in which the movable. panel mechanism will be of a simple practical design adapted to be readily mounted or unmounted as'regards the body portion of the door.

:"The novel features of construction, combinations and relations of parts by which the foregoing and other desirable objects are attained are set forthin the following specification.

i The drawings forming part of the specification illustrate two practical embodiments of the invention. It is to be understood however, that the structure may vary as regards this disclosure without departure from the true spirit 20 and broad scope of the invention.

Fig. 1 is an elevation of the door with portions of the case and the inside frame broken away and in'section for better illustration of the details; Fig. 2 is an enlarged broken sectional view .25 of the gearing and screw mechanism, as on subst'antially the plane of line 2-2 of Fig. 1; Figs. 3 and 4 are broken front and side detail views partly in section of the disappearing crank mechanism for operating the panel shifting screws; Fig. 5 is a broken horizontal detail as on line 5-5 of Fig. 1; Fig. 5a is a horizontal sectional detail substantially on the plane of line 5a5a, Fig.1; Fig. s s a brokendetail illustrating a worm gear type of operating mechanism for the .35 panelscrews; Figs. '7 and 8 are broken sectional views on the lines'll and 8-8 respectively of Fig. 6; Fig. 9 isa perspective view illustrating particularly how the panel mechanism may be constructed as a unit insertable as such into the .1 shell orcase of the door.

. The body of the door is in the nature of a shell or casing 10, of sheet metal or the like, shaped to provide'the desired ornamental or other configuration, and having one or more panel open- -ings, such as the top and bottom panel openings indicated at 11 and 12. The panel opening or openings maybe all within the outline of the door as in Fig. 1, or may open through one or both ends of the door, as illustrated at 12a in "Fig. 9, where the lower panel space opens down through the bottom of the door. This door case may be mounted on suitable hinges, and if desired, be provided with suitable lock mechanism. s a-For hospital use however, the door may be mounted .on spring hinges and be adapted to swing freely both ways.

The entire panel mechanism according to the present invention is mounted in and carried by a frame, which can be inserted as a unit into or be removed from the shell of the door.

In the forms of the invention illustrated, the door case is constructed with an opening orslot 13 along one edge of the same to receive this frame. This open edge may be either the hinge or' the outer free swinging edge of thedoor, or if desired, may be the toner bottom of the door. In the illustration, the outer or free swinging edge of the door case isleft open to receive the panel frame, this construction having the ad vantage of permitting the removal of the panel frame from the door case while the latter remains hung on its hinges and converselyenabling the setting of the panel frame in the door shell after the latter has been mounted on the hinges.

The frame which carries the panels and the mechanism for shifting the same is shown in Figs. 1 and 9 as consisting generally of two upright members 14, 15, connected by an intermediate cross member 16. The upright members are shown as carrying the grooves or guides 17 for the upper and lower sliding panels 18, 19. This frame may be in the form of a single casting as indicated or may be otherwise constructed and it is suitably secured in the door shelliforinstance, by screws 20 passed through openings 21 in the front flange or faceplate 22 of the frame into screw lugs 23 provided in the shell and by screws 24 passed through the back'of the shell into the back of the frame. The face plate 22 which covers the opening in the edge of the door may be ornamented or finished in any suitable way.

The mechanism for raising and lowering the panels is shown as consisting of elongated screws 25, 26, journalled end to end in a step bearing 27 and upper and lower bearings 28, 29, inthe cross bar portion 16 of the frame and rotatively engaging nut blocks or sleeves 30, .31, secured respectively in the lower edge of the upper panel and in the upper edge of thelower panel.

These vertically disposed oppositely extending screw shafts are actuated in the present disclosure by the horizontally extending shafts 32, 33, journalled in the horizontal bearings 34 and 35 and carrying at their inner ends the bevel pinions 36 in mesh with similar pinions 37 on the adjacent ends of the screw shafts.

Various handle means may be provided for turning the operating shafts 32, 33. Thus, in

iii

, separate from ,need not be objectionably heavy.

to 9, the rotation of the operating shafts 32, 33,5

is effected by a worm or spiral gear 44 on a cross shaft 445, adapted to mesh with a'com-' panion worm gear or spiral gear 46 or 47 on the upper operating shaft 32 'or' lower operating shaft 33. In this particular instance, the shepherds crook handle 48 for opening the door is utilized as a crank for operating this cross shaft, the same being shown as socketed at its inner end at 49 to fit over the end of shaft 45 and as being mounted for vertical sliding movement in an escutcheon plate 50 secured on the faceof the door, the handle being modified further by having a turning knob 51 onthe outer end ofthe same.

The up and down movement of the cross shaft 45 necessary for meshing and unmeshing with the two shafts is provided for in the illustration by guiding the ends of the shaft in slots or vertically extended bearings 52 and by providing spring pressed plungers 53 intermediate the ends of the verticallyextended bearings; adapted to act as retainers yieldingly holding the cross'shaft in position with'the gear thereon properly meshed with the gear on either the upper or the lower screw operating shaft. These detents yield to permit up or down pressure on the shepherds crook to shift the shaft one way or the other, said detents being of sufficient strength to'prevent accidental shifting during rotative movementuof the crook handle.

When the crooked handle is used to turn either one of the operating'shafts for raising or lowering either of the panels, it is preferably left turned in the upper position indicated in Fig. 8, to serve in the capacity of a handle for swinging the door.

The invention it will be seen, enables .all of the panel mechanism to be 'made up in a unit the shell of the door, which unit can be slipped into position in the door. body,

or be readily removed therefrom at any time.

The panel frame may be a strong rigid construction, which will brace and reinforce the door shell as well as provide a mounting for the sliding panels and the mechanism for actuating the same. On the other hand, when the frame is in position in the door shell, it is braced in part by its attachment to the shell and therefore mechanisms hold the panels in anypo sition to which they may be shifted, so that either one or the other, or both of the panels may be moved to more or less cover or uncover the panel openings, remaining held in such positions of adjustment by the screw mechanism. The frame may be of the general H shape indicated in Fig. 9,

The screw with the panels arranged to slide between the legs of the H above and below the cross bar and the operating mechanism all carried by said cross bar. This frame, with the panels and the operating gearing, can all be made up relatively thin, so as to be readily insertable edgewise into the door shell. This shell maybe ornamented in any suitable fashion and may have for example, the inturned flanges or moldings 54 about the panel openings, providing the necessary finishfor framing the panels and cooperating with the opposite sides of theframe as indicated in Fig. 5a to give the desired finished appearance.

The frame carrying the panels and panel shifting mechanism constitutes in effect a core for the door, so that if desired, the shell might be made in the nature of plating secured in sections over the frame of this core.

The panels are shown as hollow for the sake of lightness and to telescopically receive the screwshaft when the panel is shifted thereover as illustrated in Fig. 2'.

What is; claimed is;- l. A door comprising'a hollow frame mounted therein, a rotatable screw shaft mounted in the frame, exposed handlemeans for turning said shaft and a panel slidably mounted in the frame and provided with a nut member engaged with said screw shaft;

2. In door constructions, the combination of an H frame, panels guided between the legs of said H frame above and below the cross bar connect-' ing said legs'panel raising and lowering mecha-; nism mounted on said cross bar and connected with said panels and a door shell covering said frame and having panel openings in cooperative relation with the panels guided in the frame.

I 3. A door having sliding panels, vertically ex tending shafts having screw connections with said sliding panels and horizontally extending shaft mechanism geared to said vertically extend ing shafts" and mechanism for rotating the same,

with said panels for raising and lowering and: holding the same in different relations, horizontally extendingshaft means journalled in the cloor and operatively connected with the verti-' cally extending shafts and handle means operable in conjunction with said horizontally extending shaft means for selectively and independently raisingand lowering the different panels:

5. A door construction, comprising a hollow door case open along one edge, a frame insertable edgewise through said edge opening into said hollow door case, a closure for the open edge of the door case carried by said insertable frame, movablepanel mechanism carried by saidinsertable' frame and operating means for said panel mechanism mounted on said frame and exposed at one edge portion of the hollow door case.

GEORGE A. GILLEN.

door case, a

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